Have you ever spoken out loud and then thought, “Wow, that sounded better in my head?” These tips will help you speak like a CEO to achieve your goals
Dr. Laura Sicola of Vocal Impact Productions knows how to solve that problem.
«I help you close that gap between your brain and your mouth», says Laura. «You have genius in your brain. You have passion in your heart. But can you communicate it in a way that makes people want to help you turn your vision into reality?».
Laura runs Vocal Impact Productions, where she provides vocal coaching to help founders and executives become confident communicators. “Dominate the room, connect with the audience and close the deal”says. “Those are my three C’s of executive vocal presence.”
In an episode of How I Raised It, Laura shared her top communication tips for entrepreneurs to speak like a CEO, whether you’re trying to close a round, rally your team, or give a speech.
«Founders like to build, create and experiment. They don’t realize that part of being a founder is being a CEO.»says Laura.
But venture capitalists want to invest in founders who know how to manage people. “Do you see yourself in five years running a company of 10,000 people? If you pepper your speech with ‘ums’ and ‘ers’ and fail to connect with your audience, the answer is unlikely to be ‘yes.’”
He likes the expression “It’s the rider, not the horse” to explain why a product alone is not enough to win over investors.
“It doesn’t matter if you have an amazing, world-class, thoroughbred horse”he explains. “If you are an inexperienced rider, the VCs don’t believe you can get the horse to the finish line.”
Laura adds that coming across as a leader is not only important for attracting investors. Customers and employees want to know and trust the person behind the company logo. “People won’t buy your product or service until they buy from you,” explains Laura.
Captivating an audience doesn’t come naturally to every founder, but Laura shares simple voice coaching skills and presentation tips to cultivate executive presence.
Whether you’re pitching on Sand Hill Road or running an internal all-hands, Laura recommends having a goal. «Start at the end»says. «What do you want people to think, understand or feel when you’re done?
She describes these three levels of impact: cognitive, behavioural and emotional. Once you’ve decided what level of impact you’re aiming for, you can reverse engineer your presentation to achieve it.
“You wouldn’t get in your car and ask Siri where you’re going“, says Laura. “Think of this as putting the destination into your GPS so you can figure out the best route for your presentation to take you on this journey.
Founders are often told to be authentic, but what if you’re not a natural communicator or leader?
Laura rejects this question as being too black and white. “It’s not a matter of flipping a coin”he says. “People are not so monochromatic.”
He points out that everyone behaves differently depending on the situation or the audience.“What are you like when you are with your grandparents or grandchildren? Or when you are with your best friends?”
Laura describes these personality and behavioural changes as “your prismatic voice”. Just as you dress casually for the office and sporty clothes for the gym, you can appear confident and authoritative in some situations and relaxed in others.
«What color of your prism needs to shine the brightest in a particular context for your message to reach the intended recipient? In other words, what qualities do your audience need to see in you?»».
Think about the goal you just set for yourself. If you want to land a contract with a high-level investor, you need to strive to project maturity, passion, and confidence.
“Think about what those qualities sound and look like.”says Laura. “What is ‘mature’ enough for investors to trust you with a $10 million investment?”
Once you know how you want your audience to perceive you, you need to evaluate to what extent you already convey those qualities.
Laura insists that all of her coaching clients start by watching themselves on video. «The video camera is the great equalizer“, says. “It will tell you exactly what you have done well and what you have done badly”.
The video reveals the kinds of habits that can undermine even the most compelling speech, such as saying “um” every few seconds, fidgeting, and staring at notes instead of making eye contact with the audience.
Similarly, being a great speaker won’t help you overcome poor content. Laura points out that language is important: “If your words are all over the place, or you swear when you shouldn’t, or you’re tactless, it’s not going to support your message.”
Laura shared some of the tips she uses in her private vocal coaching sessions and workshops to help speakers improve both their content and their delivery.
One of the most common problems Laura sees is what she calls “the expert’s curse.”
«You are passionate about the problem you solve»he explains. “You’ve spent years obsessing over it. So it’s easy to forget that the rest of the world isn’t as passionate about it as you are. And you don’t think about what they know or don’t know.” In his view, speakers tend to talk over their audience or get lost in the weeds.
Take a step back, says Laura, and think about who you’re talking to. Why are you talking to them? What do they need to know?
«Convey your company’s story in a way that reaches the head and the heart», Laura advises. “That’s a direct line to the wallet”.
Laura sees many founders focusing too much on market size or the technical details of their product.
“If you don’t inspire people with your vision and your passion, they’re not going to bother investing in it,” says“You have to have a personal story that helps me understand why you care beyond the fact that it’s a $20 billion market.”
“If you have great content, but you deliver it poorly, that’s like dipping a pearl in the mud.”says Laura.
Some of the most common problems are speaking too quickly, mumbling, and “talking over your head” (the vocal pattern that sounds like you’re asking a question even though you’re not).
«Talking too much is often a sign of insecurity»Laura explains, and it can undermine your efforts to appear authoritative. “When you do that, you reveal all your power.”
He also realizes that many people tend to speak in rushed sentences.If you listen to yourself, can you tell where a period would go? “Or are you using a lot of commas and ‘ums’ and ‘sos’ and question marks?”
Speaking in rushed sentences can lead to another common problem: vocal fry, which is a squeaky, harsh tone. “When you are in that stream of consciousness mode, you often forget to breathe.”explains Laura (doctor in educational linguistics).
“There is not enough air in the tank to sustain breathing. That’s where the physiology that creates vocal flutter comes into play.”
Simply remembering to insert the punctuation marks you would use if you were writing can help you control these problems.
Ultimately, speaking like a CEO is as much a matter of content as it is of delivery. If you can pull both levers to find your personality as a leader, says Laura, “That’s the secret sauce. And when you learn how to do it, you can rule the world.”
